The American Democracy Legal Fund (ADLF) has filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel requesting an investigation into Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for using his official position and government resources to partake in political activity in order to aid Governor Rick Scott’s U.S. Senate campaign.

Five days after announcing a plan to expand offshore drilling off of much of the US Coast, Secretary Zinke announced in a stunning reversal that he would remove Florida from the list. Reporting in Politico revealed that Zinke’s announcement was “choreographed” to give Scott’s campaign a valuable public relations boost for his campaign for U.S. Senate. Government records show that Florida’s exemption from offshore drilling was a political ploy decided in a series of behind-the-scenes actions between Zinke and Scott.

“Ryan Zinke used his official office to help Rick Scott’s political career by arbitrarily twisting his own shortsighted policies to score partisan points. This abuse of his office and taxpayer dollars for a partisan political purpose is a clear violation of the Hatch Act and must be investigated immediately,” said Brad Woodhouse of ADLF.